Genetic regulators of sputum mucin concentration and their associations with COPD phenotypes.

Hyper-secretion and/or hyper-concentration of mucus is a defining feature of multiple obstructive lung diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Mucus itself is composed of a mixture of water, ions, salt and proteins, of which the gel-forming mucins, MUC5AC and MUC5B, are the...

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Main Authors: Eric Van Buren, Giorgia Radicioni, Sarah Lester, Wanda K O'Neal, Hong Dang, Silva Kasela, Suresh Garudadri, Jeffrey L Curtis, MeiLan K Han, Jerry A Krishnan, Emily S Wan, Edwin K Silverman, Annette Hastie, Victor E Ortega, Tuuli Lappalainen, Martijn C Nawijn, Maarten van den Berge, Stephanie A Christenson, Yun Li, Michael H Cho, Mehmet Kesimer, Samir N P Kelada
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023-06-01
Series:PLoS Genetics
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1010445&type=printable
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author Eric Van Buren
Giorgia Radicioni
Sarah Lester
Wanda K O'Neal
Hong Dang
Silva Kasela
Suresh Garudadri
Jeffrey L Curtis
MeiLan K Han
Jerry A Krishnan
Emily S Wan
Edwin K Silverman
Annette Hastie
Victor E Ortega
Tuuli Lappalainen
Martijn C Nawijn
Maarten van den Berge
Stephanie A Christenson
Yun Li
Michael H Cho
Mehmet Kesimer
Samir N P Kelada
author_facet Eric Van Buren
Giorgia Radicioni
Sarah Lester
Wanda K O'Neal
Hong Dang
Silva Kasela
Suresh Garudadri
Jeffrey L Curtis
MeiLan K Han
Jerry A Krishnan
Emily S Wan
Edwin K Silverman
Annette Hastie
Victor E Ortega
Tuuli Lappalainen
Martijn C Nawijn
Maarten van den Berge
Stephanie A Christenson
Yun Li
Michael H Cho
Mehmet Kesimer
Samir N P Kelada
author_sort Eric Van Buren
collection DOAJ
description Hyper-secretion and/or hyper-concentration of mucus is a defining feature of multiple obstructive lung diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Mucus itself is composed of a mixture of water, ions, salt and proteins, of which the gel-forming mucins, MUC5AC and MUC5B, are the most abundant. Recent studies have linked the concentrations of these proteins in sputum to COPD phenotypes, including chronic bronchitis (CB) and acute exacerbations (AE). We sought to determine whether common genetic variants influence sputum mucin concentrations and whether these variants are also associated with COPD phenotypes, specifically CB and AE. We performed a GWAS to identify quantitative trait loci for sputum mucin protein concentration (pQTL) in the Sub-Populations and InteRmediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study (SPIROMICS, n = 708 for total mucin, n = 215 for MUC5AC, MUC5B). Subsequently, we tested for associations of mucin pQTL with CB and AE using regression modeling (n = 822-1300). Replication analysis was conducted using data from COPDGene (n = 5740) and by examining results from the UK Biobank. We identified one genome-wide significant pQTL for MUC5AC (rs75401036) and two for MUC5B (rs140324259, rs10001928). The strongest association for MUC5B, with rs140324259 on chromosome 11, explained 14% of variation in sputum MUC5B. Despite being associated with lower MUC5B, the C allele of rs140324259 conferred increased risk of CB (odds ratio (OR) = 1.42; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10-1.80) as well as AE ascertained over three years of follow up (OR = 1.41; 95% CI: 1.02-1.94). Associations between rs140324259 and CB or AE did not replicate in COPDGene. However, in the UK Biobank, rs140324259 was associated with phenotypes that define CB, namely chronic mucus production and cough, again with the C allele conferring increased risk. We conclude that sputum MUC5AC and MUC5B concentrations are associated with common genetic variants, and the top locus for MUC5B may influence COPD phenotypes, in particular CB.
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spelling doaj-art-15ff002556a14a7bb60b42d94e480aed2025-08-20T03:51:29ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Genetics1553-73901553-74042023-06-01196e101044510.1371/journal.pgen.1010445Genetic regulators of sputum mucin concentration and their associations with COPD phenotypes.Eric Van BurenGiorgia RadicioniSarah LesterWanda K O'NealHong DangSilva KaselaSuresh GarudadriJeffrey L CurtisMeiLan K HanJerry A KrishnanEmily S WanEdwin K SilvermanAnnette HastieVictor E OrtegaTuuli LappalainenMartijn C NawijnMaarten van den BergeStephanie A ChristensonYun LiMichael H ChoMehmet KesimerSamir N P KeladaHyper-secretion and/or hyper-concentration of mucus is a defining feature of multiple obstructive lung diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Mucus itself is composed of a mixture of water, ions, salt and proteins, of which the gel-forming mucins, MUC5AC and MUC5B, are the most abundant. Recent studies have linked the concentrations of these proteins in sputum to COPD phenotypes, including chronic bronchitis (CB) and acute exacerbations (AE). We sought to determine whether common genetic variants influence sputum mucin concentrations and whether these variants are also associated with COPD phenotypes, specifically CB and AE. We performed a GWAS to identify quantitative trait loci for sputum mucin protein concentration (pQTL) in the Sub-Populations and InteRmediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study (SPIROMICS, n = 708 for total mucin, n = 215 for MUC5AC, MUC5B). Subsequently, we tested for associations of mucin pQTL with CB and AE using regression modeling (n = 822-1300). Replication analysis was conducted using data from COPDGene (n = 5740) and by examining results from the UK Biobank. We identified one genome-wide significant pQTL for MUC5AC (rs75401036) and two for MUC5B (rs140324259, rs10001928). The strongest association for MUC5B, with rs140324259 on chromosome 11, explained 14% of variation in sputum MUC5B. Despite being associated with lower MUC5B, the C allele of rs140324259 conferred increased risk of CB (odds ratio (OR) = 1.42; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10-1.80) as well as AE ascertained over three years of follow up (OR = 1.41; 95% CI: 1.02-1.94). Associations between rs140324259 and CB or AE did not replicate in COPDGene. However, in the UK Biobank, rs140324259 was associated with phenotypes that define CB, namely chronic mucus production and cough, again with the C allele conferring increased risk. We conclude that sputum MUC5AC and MUC5B concentrations are associated with common genetic variants, and the top locus for MUC5B may influence COPD phenotypes, in particular CB.https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1010445&type=printable
spellingShingle Eric Van Buren
Giorgia Radicioni
Sarah Lester
Wanda K O'Neal
Hong Dang
Silva Kasela
Suresh Garudadri
Jeffrey L Curtis
MeiLan K Han
Jerry A Krishnan
Emily S Wan
Edwin K Silverman
Annette Hastie
Victor E Ortega
Tuuli Lappalainen
Martijn C Nawijn
Maarten van den Berge
Stephanie A Christenson
Yun Li
Michael H Cho
Mehmet Kesimer
Samir N P Kelada
Genetic regulators of sputum mucin concentration and their associations with COPD phenotypes.
PLoS Genetics
title Genetic regulators of sputum mucin concentration and their associations with COPD phenotypes.
title_full Genetic regulators of sputum mucin concentration and their associations with COPD phenotypes.
title_fullStr Genetic regulators of sputum mucin concentration and their associations with COPD phenotypes.
title_full_unstemmed Genetic regulators of sputum mucin concentration and their associations with COPD phenotypes.
title_short Genetic regulators of sputum mucin concentration and their associations with COPD phenotypes.
title_sort genetic regulators of sputum mucin concentration and their associations with copd phenotypes
url https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1010445&type=printable
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